The Eye Mask - A Retelling (Future RWBY AU - COMPLETE ONESHOT)
by SanguisAnima
Summary: A retelling of how Future!Ruby got the eye mask. Based off of Funblade's Future!RWBY AU and from xenon54165's fic in DA. Link to original is in my profile. WhiteRose and some fluff. One-shot.


For all hardcore White Rose/Red Snowflake/Pink (or whatever you wanna call this shipping) aficionados, y'all are going to love this.

Before anything else (yes, I know, same old stuff, blah blah blah...) :

**DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN RWBY. CREDIT GOES TO (RWBYGOD) MONTY OUM AND ROOSTERTEETH.**

**.**

**ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMER : THIS PIECE IS ***_**NOT**_*** MY ORIGINAL. THIS IS ORIGINALLY BY XENON54165 FROM DEVIANTART (LINK IS IN MY PROFILE PAGE). **

**I SIMPLY GOT HER PERMISSION TO DO A RETELLING. **

I'm also going to reference the same images she did. You'll come across sections with something like this:

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><p>Random meaningless sentence placed by author as an example, and ending with something like this. (F0)<p>

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><p>That means there's an image related to that scene, identified by the letter F and a corresponding number. Links to the images themselves will be provided at the bottom.<p>

I mean, I'm just retelling the same story. Kinda like the bards of olden times: they would trade songs and stories, and some bards would slightly alter the timing or wording of their songs so that their audience will be able to understand or enjoy it better.

Capisce? Capisce.

Okay! Roll dat film!

Lights, camera, action!

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><p>Three days.<p>

It's been three days since Ruby woke up after the accident.

Her right cheek, entire right arm and torso were buried underneath layers upon layers of gauze bandages. Right now, stains of blood were already showing through the thick gauze on her hand. More than likely, this would mean her injuries will take a long time to completely heal. Bummer.

Ruby stretched her body as comfortably far as she could, recalling what the doctor told her earlier this morning.

He had told the twenty-one year old that she had lost her sight on her right eye. And that there was no hope of recovering it.

Being the stubborn person she was, Ruby didn't believe the doctor. Of course you won't be able to see anything in your right eye if the entire right side of your face was covered with bandages, now, would you?

She also wanted to prove the doctor wrong, just like how she proved so many naysayers wrong countless times in the past years.

Ruby won't graduate from Beacon? Oh, she just finished fourth in her entire batch - right behind Weiss, Blake and Pyrrha, who got first, second and third places respectively. Team RWBY's successful Nevermore initiation kill was a fluke? Well, they're the current record holders for the fastest Nevermore, Beowolf, Boarbatusk, and Ursa dispatches in Beacon (back in initiation, they did it in one minute and thirteen seconds for the Nevermore; now their record sits at an impressive twenty-nine seconds for an adult Nevermore, six seconds for a pack of four Beowolves, twenty-seven seconds for a pair of Boarbatusks, and ten seconds for one Ursa - not counting the one time that Yang single-handedly pummeled a pair or Ursaj within six seconds, all because a paw swipe nicked several strands of her blonde mane). What about not beating Team JNPR in a mock tournament style duel? True, Ruby lost in a matter of just a few points against Jaune, but her out-of-the-box plans got them the team win.

This would just be another of those situations. She'll find a way to get her sight back, and move on.

She _was_ Ruby Rose, after all. The young and fearless leader of Team RWBY.

Ruby glanced towards the door and strained to listen. The nurses had just left, and it also just turned dark outside her window. That meant there won't be anyone entering her room for a long while.

She tried moving her right arm. It still hurt a bit, but it was better compared to how it felt two days ago. _I should be fine if I just give it a quick check._

Her good eye looked around the room, and her glance landed on the fruit knife on her bedside table. She didn't really notice it earlier, neither on the previous days. Likely, one of the nurses used it when they fed her slices of fruit, when she had woken up and could barely move. And luckily for the injured girl, it was on her left side.

Ruby cautiously reached for the fruit knife, gripping the shiny steel implement in her left hand. Slowly, gently, the silver-eyed girl worked her way through the gauze, peeling and slicing off the bandages, careful to avoid making skin contact with the knife.

Finally, when she was on the last layer, Ruby gently set down the knife on the side table and used both hands to gently peel off the gauze. Due to being in direct contact with her still-healing burned skin, the material gently stuck to her face. This caused a small whimper to escape Ruby's lips as she gingerly took off the last scrap of bandaging material.

The cool air of Ruby's hospital room touched the girl's cheek for the first time. Although it still smarted a bit due to being covered for who knows exactly how long, the silver-eyed girl felt relief. Finally she had her entire face uncovered and free, as it should be.

Was it just her, or was the breeze from the air conditioning unit on the other end of the room stronger towards the right side of her face? Oh well, probably one of the nurses set it up that way.

Ruby now slowly closed her left eye, and gently tried to open the right one. The silver-eyed girl knew for certain that she couldn't open them fully (because of the burns she must have certainly gotten from throwing herself in front of the blast to save Weiss), but she was sure she had them opened enough to be able to sense light.

Disbelief, surprise, and shock flooded Ruby Rose when she saw nothing but darkness through her right eye.

Her left hand shakily went up, gently touching her right eyelids. As soon as her fingers made contact, Ruby felt the immediate sting associated with touching an open wound, and the wetness of a knee scrape starting to mend itself. The sudden shot of pain, combined with the surprise, made Ruby unconsciously put pressure on her now-bleeding right cheek.

Fear and panic started flooding Ruby's mind, among others. But above it all, she felt regret and guilt.

Losing her right eyesight meant seriously jeopardizing her future career as a Huntress. The serious burns on her right cheek would also definitely leave a life-long mark on her face.

Those were serious concerns, but right now, Ruby was more saddened by the realization that she wasn't strong enough to keep herself _and_ Weiss safe - the latter now having another scar directly below her left eye, and Ruby herself in her current injured state.

_For such a weak person, how could I keep my promise to protect Weiss for the rest of our lives?_

Ruby felt her left hand get wetter. She lifted her hand off her face, and moved it towards the left side where she could see better.

Her fingers were stained with blood, and tears were pooling in her palm.

Ruby's hand shook. The blood trickled down to the edge of her palm, mixing and turning a pretty (if a bit gruesome, if you knew where they came from) shade of pink, before falling off and landing on the white blanket on her lap.

Her face formed a bitter smile. "Great. Just great. I just suffered losing my sight, now if I could just lose the capability to cry..."

Ruby's composure finally collapsed. She buried her face in her palm, bitterly sobbing and ignoring the pull of the IV on her left arm (F1).

The sound of someone knocking on the door made Ruby's heart stop for a split second. She quickly recovered, and listened again, calming herself enough to stop her sobbing.

There it was again. Ruby knew just by the force and timing of each knock that the visitor was none other than Weiss Schnee.

Ruby did miss the white-haired heiress. Being cooped up in a hospital ward made the normally energetic girl feel helplessly miserable. Every time that Weiss was present in the same room with her, Ruby would count it as the happiest time of the day.

However, Ruby didn't want Weiss to see her like this. "Please, not now..." She really didn't want the most important person in her life right now to see her pitiful state. Her mind was begging, hoping that the knocker only heard Weiss knock before, copied it, and had knocked on the wrong door.

"Ruby, it's me."

The sound of the heiress' voice shattered Ruby's hopes of the visitor being mistaken.

The door opened, and the familiar off-centered ponytail sported by the Schnee heiress came into view. It took Weiss only a second to register shock at seeing Ruby's still-crying face, the bleeding wounds and the bloody bandages lying on the blanket.

However, the heiress regained her composure just as fast. "I'll call the nurses, stay there and don't move." She quickly turned and left the room.

Ruby stared at the door. She sniffled once, then mumbled to herself. "Damn it. I did it again. I hurt her..."

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><p><em>A few minutes earlier...<em>

Weiss stepped out of the vehicle, two brown paper bags in her hand. She didn't particularly like hospitals, but due to the fact that her teammate, best (first!) friend, team leader and savior was confined here, the white-haired girl took it upon herself to visit Ruby Rose every day.

At first, Weiss wanted to have Ruby treated in the comfort of the Schnee estates. After all, it was because the dolt threw herself in front of the Dust explosion that she had gotten burned badly. Weiss herself got another scar, right underneath her left eye, from shrapnel that went flying all over the place, but she was lucky enough to suffer only that.

Without a shadow of doubt, Ruby undeniably saved her from greater injury, and Weiss felt it was only fair that she be the one to nurse the younger girl back to health.

However, due to the extent of the burns the young scythe-wielder suffered, and because the hospital was a shorter trip away - not to mention having better equipment to immediately treat the injured girl - the Schnee heiress relented.

From that time until now, Weiss still took the blame for what happened to both of them. Blake and Yang both tried to convince her otherwise, but she wouldn't be swayed. It was her decision to bring Ruby along, and although the dunce behaved herself sufficiently to prevent any self-mishaps, some other idiot decided to be a show off, starting the whole mess.

If she had known that bringing Ruby Rose, young and fearless leader of Beacon Academy's prodigy - Team RWBY - to one of the Schnee Dust Company's remote Dust Refinery sites would cause some employees to behave in such a careless and unruly manner, then Weiss Schnee would have decided to either drop the entire affair altogether and send someone to inspect the site in her stead, or perhaps conduct the inspection by surprise another day.

She sighed. What's done is done, and everything had already happened. Weiss now had a small gauze bandage on her left cheek, below her eye, very fortunate indeed to have suffered no further injury; while her friend, teammate and girlfriend was in a hospital, luckily on the road to recovery.

However, the news she was given two days ago, when Ruby awoke, sent her spirits plummeting to the ground.

Ruby Rose would live, but she had lost sight completely in her right eye. Her right arm would still be usable, but due to the severity of the burns, she would find controlling it a bit difficult since her nerves were greatly damaged by the accident.

Weiss sighed again, slowing her pace down. It was her fault that Ruby now had such a handicap. A severe one, considering that the younger girl wielded a sniper rifle. Not to mention the said weapon, named Crescent Rose, also became a gigantic scythe that towered over even Blake, arguably the tallest member of their team (because of her cat ears).

She arrived at the ward door, and knowing Ruby would be awake, she knocked twice, paused a beat, and knocked again.

Weiss thought she heard a gasp. Ruby probably wasn't expecting her to come at this time. _Well, think again, you dolt._ "Ruby, it's me."

Taking the silence to be Ruby's disbelief at Weiss' visit, the white-haired girl opened the door and stepped in.

Nothing could have prepared Weiss for the sight that met her.

Ruby Rose was (or had been) crying, the bandages on the right side of her face lying in a mess on the blanket on her lap, and the wounds looking like they had been reopened.

_She knew._ Ruby now knew she was half-blind.

Weiss' rational mind kicked in. Of course taking off the bandages will hurt.

First things first: make sure she doesn't get any more injured than she is, then talk later. "I'll call the nurses, stay there and don't move." Weiss turned and quickened her pace to the nurses' station. Thankfully she still managed to keep her calm, although the nurses in the nurse's station seemed to have picked up on her apparent panic and rushed to Ruby's room.

Weiss took her time to return, trying to figure out Ruby's intent. Why would she take off the bandages?

Likely, Ruby wanted to prove the doctor - also possibly to herself - that she'll still have her eyesight.

The white-haired girl felt her eyes water. If only she had not decided to bring Ruby along, this wouldn't have happened. Weiss felt her legs give way, and stumbled to the nearest seat in the hallway. It was her fault, none of it was Ruby's. She knew - both of them knew - that Ruby would drop everything in a heartbeat to protect Weiss, even if it meant her life.

Before, Weiss didn't fully understand the implications. But now that Ruby was hospitalized, and was risking losing or having to give up her career as a Huntress, the weight of the cloaked girl's actions started to haunt the Schnee heiress.

She didn't want to be the one who held the figurative smoking gun.

"Ruby..."

Weiss' self-control, famed during her time in Beacon as the hardest to break, finally collapsed. She let the tears flow, and the sobs came.

She was thankful that the hallways were empty.

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><p>After Ruby calmed herself enough and wiped off her tears as best as she could, two nurses came in. They immediately went to work, applying a soothing salve and restoratives to the wounds, then covering them with sterile dressing. Neither one asked nor said anything, but seemed to be waiting for Ruby to open up.<p>

Once they were done, Ruby gave a small nod, said a small word of thanks, and a hurried apology as they left.

Ruby took a few minutes to get her thoughts in order. Though she wasn't sure yet what to use as an excuse for the little scene Weiss saw, she was sure she could still show her trademarked confident, goofy dork-like smile to the white-haired girl.

"... I still can't think of the perfect excuse to cover that." Ruby sighed. Truth be told, none of the excuses she had given Weiss in the past had ever successfully bluffed the shrewd Weiss.

A few more minutes passed, but Weiss still hadn't come back. Each passing moment added to Ruby's anxiety. _Weiss is probably blaming herself now_, Ruby thought to herself.

This made her feel really bad. The silver eyed girl didn't want Weiss taking on the burden of guilt over the accident for the rest of her life. Weiss had no fault in what happened to Ruby; it was the younger girl's decision to come along, and both knew that Ruby had already sworn to protect Weiss - _her_ Weiss - no matter the cost. And of course, Weiss herself adamantly refused for the younger girl to take such unnecessary risks.

A small smile played on Ruby's lips. Weiss Schnee, always full of pride, sharp wit, confidence; the epitome of responsibility, everything a businesswoman could hope to be. It was simply in her nature to perfect whatever she put her mind and hands to, and stays strong in the face of adversity. However, very few people knew what lay underneath the hard, icy exterior: an extremely sensitive heart, and a caring soul.

If someone had been seriously injured and lost half of their eyesight on Weiss Schnee's account, the heiress would constantly remind herself of the fact, insist on taking responsibility for the person's recovery, and - unknown to most people - she would always carry the guilt of having caused another's suffering.

If that someone happened to be her team leader, partner and girlfriend, the burden became much, _much_ heavier.

Ruby finally couldn't take it anymore. Come hell or high water, injury or no, she would look for Weiss. To hell with the consequences later.

She started to shift her injured body slowly to the edge of the bed, her muscles lethargically obeying her mind's frantic commands. Just as she reached the edge, the door opened. This time, Weiss didn't bother knocking.

At the sight of the white-haired girl, Ruby put on her biggest, dorkiest, most cheerful smile, hoping that Weiss would forget about the little depressing scene she had just seen earlier.

The first thing Weiss noticed was that Ruby had somehow moved herself to the edge of the bed without assistance. That in itself would've been very welcome news, if it hadn't been for the fact that she knew the reason why the dolt was doing it - to find her.

A scolding quickly came up from the white-haired girl's mind - first, for the injured girl taking off her bandages and reopening the barely-healed wounds; second, for even _thinking_ of trying to get off of bed just to find her (though Weiss did have to admit, the idea made her feel warm and fuzzy inside, when she thought about it later on) - but the instant Weiss' blue eyes alighted on the same old, goofy grin that she had now come to associate with Ruby Rose alone, the words were halted and swallowed back.

Weiss tossed the paper bags to the chairs at the corner, not caring if its contents spilled out, and made it to Ruby's bedside in two quick strides.

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><p>The injured girl in question had immediately traced the paper bags' path as it flew in the air. If there's one thing that Ruby would be able to identify by scent, it was freshly-baked cookies - she could even do it blindfolded, and identify which kind of cookies were which in a heap. However, the doctor had forbidden any sort of junk food and most of the snacks that Ruby so loved - including her favorite cookies.<p>

And so, Ruby had to comply, although going the three days straight without her favorite snack made her feel uncomfortable. Ruby idly wondered if this was what she had heard something called as 'withdrawal' felt like.

The mere idea of Weiss bringing her cookies for today made Ruby a bit happier. The blue-eyed girl was probably intending to break the news to her, and was going to use the cookies so Ruby wouldn't dwell on the fact.

Weiss, oh Weiss. Certainly a paradox. So cold yet so warm, so strict yet so caring.

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><p>Weiss' voice was close to yelling intensity, but contained no anger, only concern. "What in the world are you doing, Ruby?! You aren't supposed to get out of bed! Lie down immediately! What if your wounds reopened?"<p>

Ruby's glance was drawn to Weiss' normally crystal-blue eyes. They were puffy and red right now, indicating the heiress just had a good cry, although the "evidence" had been already dried and wiped off.

The tell-tale discoloration on the gauze under Weiss' left eye told Ruby all she needed to know. Pangs of guilt tore through her again as she thought of the reason Weiss was brought to tears again.

"I... I'm sorry, Weiss. Promise, I'll be careful next time." She looked down and continued. "Please, don't feel guilty. I'm really fine now. I swear!"

Weiss moved towards the bedside chair and settled down on it. She knew Ruby was trying to lie to her - _again_ - because each time Ruby tried to pull a fast one, she would always avoid eye contact. The most common way Ruby did this was by looking down.

She wasn't going to fall for it, oh no sir.

"You dunce, you're not the one supposed to apologize." Weiss took Ruby's left hand and placed it between hers, then gazed straight into the silver eye blinking at her.

"... And please, Ruby, don't lie to me."

Weiss drew a short sigh and pressed on before the silver-eyed girl cut her off. "While it is true that I am very sorry and feel guilty for what happened, please don't make the mistake of thinking I'm made of glass. My heart isn't that fragile, you know."

Ruby's good eye blinked, her mouth slightly parted in surprise. Weiss pressed on, "Did you really think that if you took all the responsibility for what happened away from me, I would stop feeling guilty? Weren't you the one who taught me, 'express your true feelings and don't push yourself too hard'?" (F2)

Hearing Weiss' confession, Ruby's let her guard down. She should've trusted Weiss from the start of her ordeal, and now Ruby realized that continuing to doubt her snow-haired girlfriend was hurting Weiss.

Ruby's head tilted down, sobs breaking out of her lips. Weiss wrapped her arms around the silver-eyed girl, tears welling up again. "After all this time with you, I suppose I have been influenced by your childishness... A tiny bit."

Neither knew why, but soon both of them were crying, sobbing aloud, each other's tears falling on the other's shoulder. (F3)

They stayed like this for a long while, until both felt the weights in their chests dissipate. When each felt the other's shoulder stop shuddering, they pulled away, Ruby having a slight tinge of pink on her cheek.

Weiss remembered the paper bags she had tossed so haphazardly earlier. She quickly stood up and retrieved it, and breathed a short sigh of relief as she took out the contents of the larger one. Ruby's nose was correct, it _was_ cookies after all.

"I'm allowing you to break the rules, Ruby - but only for today. I specifically requested the cooks to put in only half as much sugar in there because of your current condition, so they may not be up to your usual standards." The blue-eyed girl pulled out a plate and fork from one of the farther drawers. She started putting some of the baked goodies on the plate and broke up the cookies into smaller, easier-to-bite sized pieces with the fork.

"Are you kidding, Weiss? It's fine even if it doesn't have sugar in it, I know it'll still be delicious!" Ruby was positively beaming as Weiss set the plate gently on the silver-eyed girl's lap.

Ruby had been holding off on cookies for quite some time now, so as soon as her girlfriend set the plate on the injured girl's lap, Ruby immediately set herself to devouring the cookies. She knew Weiss would not admit to having baked them herself, but she could immediately tell. It didn't matter right now, because to Ruby what was important was the fact that Weiss was here with her, enjoying the gleeful look the silver-eyed girl must have had while eating. _Oh, and when did Weiss pick up the plate and held it a bit closer?_ (F4)

Ruby's attention was now on the other paper bag. "Hey, Weiss, what's in the other bag? Did you bring me pancakes as well?"

Weiss rolled her eyes, unable to resist. Give her an inch, she'll take a yard. Probably more.

"Of course not. We can have some together when you're better." Weiss reached for the other bag, pulling out a black eye mask. "I believe you'll need this after you get discharged. For a little while, at least."

The white-haired girl emphasized the "little while" part of her speech. Like Ruby, she too believed that given enough time and an opportunity, she wanted to help the scythe wielder regain her right eyesight and treat the scars. No matter how much money, time and effort it would take.

Ruby was now blinking her good eye excitedly, inspecting the eye mask. "Wow, the rose design on this eye mask is awesome! Did you sew it yourself?" The silver-eyed girl ran her fingers again on the silver rose design. Her other hand was sliding along the opposite side, finding the inner part to be extremely soft to the touch, and undoubtedly comfortable to wear.

"Yes, and I used the most breathable materials for it. I also tried wearing it to make sure everything went as I wanted." (F5)

Ruby's good eye widened. "Oh my gosh, you did make the eye mask!" She turned back to the item in her hands, turning it this way and that.

A small smile formed on Weiss' lips. It seemed Ruby liked - no, loved the eye mask. However, she felt she had forgotten something.

After a few more moments watching Ruby, it hit her. "Oh no, I forgot to make a backup eye mask!" Weiss' head slightly jerked upwards.

Ruby turned her head to Weiss, blinking. "U-umm.. Could you do a snowflake pattern this time?"

This time, Weiss blinked her blue eyes at the injured girl. "E-excuse me? I thought the rose was..." She trailed off, getting an idea why the silver-eyed girl had such a request.

"That's... That's because..." Ruby began, her good eye twinkling, an eager look was on her face. _Oh no, I knew it!_ Weiss felt the base of her neck immediately heat up. _You dolt!_

Just as Ruby took a deep breath to start explaining, Weiss put a hand up in front of the other girl's face, forestalling the lengthy jabbering. Just as well, since she knew Ruby would probably say something that would make her now-blushing cheeks flare up further.

Weiss glanced at the watch on her wrist. Much as she wanted to stay, she had to cut her visit short. The little incident had already delayed her enough. "I really have to leave now as I still have a meeting later. I'll try to make it quick and visit you again at dinner time." (F6)

Ruby grinned, noticing the blush that Weiss was so valiantly trying to hide from her. "Okay! Oh, if you're making the second eye mask, can you make it here at my bedside? I wanna see!"

Weiss Schnee could not help but bury her face in her palm. What did she get herself into now? "... Fine," she caught herself saying. _But that's why I love you, you lovable dolt._

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><p>Well, that was a thing! So much for my retelling.<p>

DERNIT FFN REMOVED THE IMAGE LINKS!

Image References [all are from i . imgur .com]:

F1 : (slash) DEFTBUE .jpg  
>F2 : (slash) qnaXHlx .jpg<br>F3 : (slash) Bf9iUYg .jpg  
>F4 : (slash) WhyF2hQ .jpg<br>F5 : (slash) R2zX0BZ .jpg  
>F6 : (slash) cHNxyEx .jpg<p> 


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